Door jack



30, 1955 o. E. GONZALES 2,716,536

DOOR JACK Filed June 25, 1953 INVENTOR. 5/ 004 /4/ 504/000 aa/vmaesUnited States Patent DOOR JACK Odlin Edmond Gonzales, Temple City,Calif.

Application June 25, 1953, Serial No. 364,173

2 Claims. (Cl. 254-106) vided in parallelism with the slide rod or barfor counteracting the bending moments to which the slide bar issubjected and for therefore preventing it from flexing. As a result ofthis construction, the slide bar as well as the tie rods can be made ofrelatively small cross-section and the weight of the entire mechanismcan thereby be kept down to a point wherein it can be carried andmanipulated by a single operator.

A further object of this invention is the provision in a door jack ofthe character above described of a simple novel inching mechanism forinching one of the pry plates of the device along the slide bar andincluding a pair of spring biased clutch rings disposed around the slidebar, one of these rings being operable by a lever pivoted to the jackhousing.

The invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which, withthe foregoing, will be set forth at length in the following descriptionwhere that form of the invention which has been selected forillustration in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of thepresent specification, is outlined in full. In said drawings, one formof the invention is shown, but it is to be understood that it is notlimited to such form, since the invention as set forth in the claims maybe embodied in other forms.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a freight car and a doorjack embodying the objects of my invention, the jack being shown in itsoperative position.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the section line 22 of Fig. 1showing my jack in use for opening a door.

Fig. 3 is a section similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2 but showingthe jack in use for closing a door.

Fig. 4 is a vertical mid-section taken through the jack.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the section line 5-5 of Fig. 4,and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the jack operating handle.

As shown in these various figures, the objects of my invention have beenembodied in a jack comprising a steel slide bar or rod 1 convenientlyabout one inch in diameter and 84 inches long and having threaded ends.mounted over the ends of the bar 1 and secured thereto by nuts 2 arefixed pry plates 3 and 4, each having transversely extending door orload engaging portions 5 and 6 and a pair of opposed tie rod supportingfingers 7 and 8.

Rigidly fastened to and between each longitudinally lit) 2,716,536Patented Aug. 30, 1955 opposed pairs of supporting fingers 7 and 8 bynuts 9 and 11 are tie rods 12 and 13 preferably of a diameterconsiderably smaller than the diameter of the slide rod 1.

Slidably mounted on the slide rod 1 intermediate the two fixed pryplates 3 and 4 is a slide rod 14 provided with a load engaging portion15 in longitudinal alignment with the load engaging portions 5 and 6 ofthe fixed pry plates. The pry plate 14 as indicated in Fig. 4 isprovided with a pair of holes 16 through which the tie rods 12 and 13pass with positive clearance.

Formed integral with the intermediate pry plate 14 is an inwardlyextending jack housing 17 provided with an intermediate slide rodbearing 18 and with an outer slide rod bearing 19. Extending into thehousing 17 and formed integral therewith is a yoke 21 straddling theslide rod 1 and formed in the upper wall of the housing 17 intermediatethe bearing 18 and the yoke 21 is an aperture 22. Surrounding the sliderod 1 intermediate the pry plate 3 and the yoke 21 is clutch ring 23provided at its upper side with a fulcrum finger 24 and at its lowerside with a depending lever arm 25. Surrounding the slide bar 1 with itsends in abutment with the pry plate 14 and the clutch ring 23 is abiasing compressing spring 26. Pivoted to the jack housing 17 by a pin27 and extending through a slot is a hollow 27 formed in the lower sideof the housing operating lever 28 provided at its inner end with a fork29 arranged to straddle the free end of the lever arm 25. Insertable inthe hollow end of the operating lever 28 is a combination lever handleand pry bar 31 having a curved, wedged shaped outer end 32. Looselysurrounding the slide bar 1 between the yoke 21 and the bearing 18 isholding clutch ring 33 provided with a fulcrum finger 34 extending intothe aperture 22 and formed on its lower side with a release finger 35extending through the slot 27 Surrounding the slide bar 1 between theyoke 21 and the clutch ring 33 is a biasing spring 36.

Fastened to pry plate 3 by its U-bolt 37 is a chain 38 and slidable onthe slide bar 1 is a ring 39 to which is fastened a supporting chain 41terminating at its free end in a fastener 42.

To open a freight car door with this device the door is first pried openwith a pry bar 31 to an extent sufiicient to permit the fixed pry plate3 and the slidable pry plate 14 to be inserted between the door jam 51and the door 52 as illustrated in Fig. 2. The door opener is thensuspended from wall 51 of the car and from the door 52 in a horizontalposition by the two chains 38 and 41 as illustrated in Fig. 1. When inthis position, the pry plates can be readily inserted in place betweenthe door jam and the door and the door opened by reciprocating the lever28.

Upon the initial movement of the operating lever in a counterclockwisedirection from its position as shown in Fig. 4, the clutch ring 23 bindson and is locked to the slide bar 1, the clutch ring 33 is free toadvance to the right on the slide bar and consequently the jack housingis caused to advance an increment to the right. It should here be notedthat the forward movement of the housing is brought about by the samesort of action by which a rowboat is advanced through the water by apair of oars and that in such action it is the free ends of the oarsthat can be considered as being fulcrumed at relatively fixed points inthe water. Upon the initiation of the return or clockwise stroke of thelever 28, the clutch ring 33 takes a bite on the slide bar 1 and theclutch ring 23 is free to slide forwardly on the slide bar 1 under theinfluence of the biasing spring 26. In this manner the housing is inchedto the right until the door is in its full open position.

If it is desired to close the door, the fixed pry plate 4 3 and slidablepry plate 14 are inserted between a stiffening channel 53 and the rightside of the door 52 and the operation above described reversed.

From an inspection of Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it will be noted that since thedoor and jam contacting portions 5 and 15 of the pry plates 3 and 14 arelocated at an appreciable distance from the slide rod 1, these portionsconstitute lever arms and that consequently a couple is formed tendingto make the outer ends of the contacting portions 5 and 15 diverge fromeach other. This in turn means that the slide bar 1 is subjected to abending moment and in the absence of the tie rods 12 and 13, would haveto be made of very heavy steel. It is to avoid this additional Weightand expense that resort is had to the relatively light tie rods 12 and13 and in to placing them at a point generally opposite the contactingportions 5 and 15 of the pry plates. By doing this, any bending momentto which the slide bar 1 is subjected is transmitted to the tie rods 12and 13 to an extent which maintains the system in balance in so far asbending moments are concerned, 1

at least to a point wherein for practical purposes the slide bar 1 isalways substantially straight and the pry plates square therewith. Thetotal weight of the entire device need not be over 34 pounds.

From the above description, it will be seen that I have provided asimple, inexpensive and positively acting freight car door opener,sufficiently light to be carried and manipulated by one operator.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A door jack comprising: a slide bar; a pry plate rigidly fixed toeach end of said slide bar, and extending laterally therefrom, each ofsaid pry plates including longitudinally aligned load engaging portions;a tie rod extending between and rigidly fixed to said pry plates inparallelism with said slide bar at the side thereof opposite said loadengaging portions; a movable pry plate slidably mounted on said slidebar intermediate its ends; a jack housing formed integral with saidmovable pry plate and slidably mounted on said slide bar; and a leveroperated inching device mounted within said housing.

2. A door jack comprising: a slide bar; a fixed pry plate rigidlysecured to each end of said slide bar, and extending laterallytherefrom, each of said plates including load engaging portions and saidload engaging portions being longitudinally aligned; a pair of tie rodsextending between and rigidly fixed to said fixed pry plates inparallelism with said slide bar on the side thereof generally oppositesaid load engaging portions; a movable pry plate slidably mounted onsaid slide bar and tie rods; a jack housing formed integral with saidmovable pry plate and surrounding said slide bar; and a lever operatedinching device mounted within said housing for inching said housing andits associated pry plate along said slide bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS1,795,391 Hansen Mar. 10, 1931 2,222,910 Lucker Nov. 26, 1940 2,255,261Lucker Sept. 9, 1941 2,323,144 Long June 29, 1943 2,535,078 La Mont Dec.26, 1950 2,603,482 Gonzales July 15, 1952

